B5L3 Two Essays

L3 Two Essays
Reading
課文翻譯與重點分析
1. ..., the accumulated knowledge and experience of ages; ....（見第4行）
(1) ages 在此處指的是「歷代；眾多的時期」。ages在日常會話中有a very long time 的意思。
例：I’ve been waiting for the bus for ages!

2. ...; they picture for us the marvels and beauties of nature, ....（見第4行）
(1) 此句亦為they picture the marvels and beauties of nature for us ...
picture為及物動詞，有「描繪；想像」之意。
例：Her face brightened as she pictured the springtime in her hometown.
picture somebody V-ing 想像某人正做某事
picture sb./sth. as sth. 將某人／某物描繪成……

3. ..., change hours of weariness into moments of delight, ....（見第6行）
(1) change A into B = turn A into B 將A轉變為B
例：The wicked witch changed the princess into a swan.

4. ..., and lift us out of and above ourselves.（見第11行）
(1) lift us out of ourselves意指「提升我們脫離目前的景況」。
(2) lift us above ourselves意指「提升我們進入更高的（心靈）層次」。

5. ..., what is far better, we may transport ourselves to the mountains or the seashore, ....（見第15行）
(1) what is better/what’s better 更好的是
補充
what is worse/what’s worse 更糟的是
what is more/what’s more 此外；再則（= moreover）

6. Precious and priceless are the blessings which books scatter around our daily paths.（見第 19 行） 3 2 1
= The blessings which books scatter around our daily paths are precious and priceless.
(1) 本句的主詞為the blessings，which形容詞子句修飾the blessings。全句為倒裝句，將訊息焦點的the blessings及其後子句後移。
(2) scatter something around somewhere 將某物散佈在某處
例：Let’s scatter the grass seeds around the yard.
(3) daily paths每天的生活

7. We walk, in imagination, with the noblest spirits, through the most sublime and enchanting regions.（見第20行）
(1)the noblest spirits意指people with very noble minds，也就是古聖先賢、偉大典籍的著作者。

8. Macaulay had wealth and fame, rank and power, and yet he tells us ....（見第23行）
(1)and yet = but，yet副詞；此處亦可去and，直接用yet當連接詞。

9. ... he owed the happiest hours of his life to books.（見第24行）
(1) owe … to… 把……歸功或歸因於……
例：He owes his success to his family education.

10. ..., on condition that I should not read books, ....（見第28行）
(1) on (the) condition that S + V 指「條件是……」、「假使……」。
例：I will pick you up at your house on the condition that you promise to be ready on time.

11. I would rather be a poor man in a garret with plenty of books than a king who did not love reading.（見第29行）
(1) would rather 助動詞片語。
would rather V1 than V2 寧可……也不願……（後接原形動詞）= would V1 rather than V2
例：He would rather die fighting for his country than live as a coward.
(2) plenty of + N可數/不可數
例：Sharon has plenty of admirers at school.
　　It’s good that we still have plenty of time before the performance.

12. Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; .... （見第33行）
(1) a state of mind「心境」= a frame of mind。

13. ...; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; ....（見第33行）
(1)a matter of + N「攸關……之事」
a matter of life and death 攸關生死之事；極為重要之事
例：Stop panicking. Forgetting your girlfriend’s birthday isn’t a matter of life and death.

14. ...; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. （見第35行）
(1) springs of life指「湧流不息的生命泉源」。

15. Youth means the predominance of courage over timidity; (predominance) of adventure over the love of ease. （見第37行）
(1) over指「勝過；超越」。
(2) 在分號後省略了the predominance。
(3) love of ease指「對於安逸享樂的喜愛」。
→年輕意味著勝過怯弱的卓越勇氣，和勝過苟安的冒險精神。

16. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.（見第39行）Living many years is not what makes a person old. Giving up our dreams is what makes us old.
(1) merely = only 僅僅
(2) a number of = some 若干，一些 + 可數名詞
(3) by + N/V-ing藉由某方法或作法。
(4) desert our ideals = cast aside our ideals 拋棄我們的理想

17. ...---these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust.（見第42行）
(1) bow the head 使人低下頭
(2) turn something to dust = completely destroy something 使（某物）消失殆盡

18. ..., there is (in every human being’s heart) the love of wonder, the sweet amazement of the stars and the star-like things, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing child-like appetite for what comes next, and the joy of the game of living.（見第45行）
(1) there is之後的主詞補語為 “the love of wonder
the sweet amazement of the stars and the star-like things, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing child-like appetite for what comes next, and the joy of the game of living” 等是一連串同位格的名詞片語，用來具體說明人人心中都有年輕的本色，因該補語過長而被安置在句末，成為全句的訊息焦點。
(1) an appetite for something 對於（某事）的欲望
例：The public seems to have a great appetite for celebrity gossip.
(2) what comes next名詞子句，指接下來會發生的事；未知的將來
(3) unfailing = never-changing; never-ending經久不衰的
VOCABULARY
1. essay question 問答題／申論題 例：There will be five essay questions on the exam.

4. a marvel to behold 奇觀；令人讚嘆的事物
marvel of ……的奇蹟、奇異之事
marvel over/at 對……感到神奇、驚異
marvel that 對……感到神奇、驚異
例：The cave paintings must really be a marvel to behold. 　　
You can see marvels of modern science all over the city. 　　
George marveled over/at the change in the little girl. 　　
We marveled that a boy of his age could act with such sophistication.

5. beautify v. [T] 美化
beauty contest 選美會
the beauty of something 某事的優點、妙處
例：Irene spent a lot of time beautifying her room. 　　
The beauty of owning a laptop is that you don’t have to be tied to your desk when you need to use a computer.

7. wearily adv. 疲乏地；厭倦地
a weary sigh 一聲疲憊的歎息
be weary of V-ing 厭倦做……
例：After finishing typing the long report, he stood up wearily. 　　
Mrs. Swanson let out a weary sigh when she found that her daughter had left her room in a mess again. 　　
I am weary of having to explain myself to my parents again and again.

8. store away something/store something away 收藏；備用
store up something 儲存；累積
in storage 儲存中
例：The weather is getting warm. It’s time to store away our winter clothes. 　　
Let’s get some rest. We need to store up some energy for our hiking trip this weekend. 　　
A lot of our best silverware is in storage.

9. be fatigued with 因……而疲憊
例：After constantly taking care of her chronically sick mother in the hospital, Laura’s hair turned gray from fatigue.

10. at someone’s convenience 在某人方便的時候
例：We can meet for another discussion at your convenience.

11. at someone’s expense 由某人付費；嘲弄某人
at the expense of something 以某物為代價；犧牲某物
at great/vast/considerable expense 花了大筆開銷
例：My friends had great fun at my expense. 　　
His success was achieved at the expense of his health. 　　
His success was achieved at great expense.

14. a blessing in disguise 偽裝的祝福；塞翁失馬焉知非福
mixed blessing 福禍相倚；有福有禍
be blessed with something 幸運擁有某物；有福氣得到某物
例：It was a mixed blessing that I got promoted---I’m earning more money but I have less time with my family. 　　
We are blessed with two lovely daughters.

19. owing to 由於；因為
例：Owing to bad weather, the outing was canceled.

22. quality and quantity 質與量
quality control (= QC) 品質管制
quality time優質時間

24. spring v. [I, T]（spring, sprang, sprung）跳躍；起源於
a spring in someone’s step 腳步輕快
spring to one’s feet 迅速起身
spring from something 起源於
spring to (one’s) mind 突然想起
例：He arrived with a spring in his step, looking extremely cheerful. 　　
She sprang to her feet as soon as she saw the principal walk in. 　　
Mable’s interest in music sprang from her upbringing in Austria. 　　
I had been trying all day to remember who he was, and then suddenly a name sprang to my mind.

25. reserved adj. 預訂的，儲備的;拘謹的，保守的
withdrawn adj. 退縮的
例：He is a reserved person who seldom talks in public. 　　
After his parents were killed in a plane crash, he became withdrawn.

26. desert n. [C] 沙漠 vs. dessert甜點
deserted adj. 荒涼的
例：The Gobi Desert is located in both China and Mongolia. 　　
The island has been deserted since the big flood.

28. in despair 絕望之下